There are usually two kinds of food frying processes, namely by frying and frying while soaking in a lot of oil (deep frying). During the frying process, the oil will be absorbed into the food and some of the food components will be dissolved into the cooking oil. This way of cooking is actually bad for health. However, you can work around this by choosing healthy cooking oil.
Do you know which oil is the healthiest for frying?
There are various types of oil that can be used for cooking. The criteria for a good cooking oil is that the saturated fat content is less than the unsaturated fat in the composition of the oil.
When cooking, the oil must be below a certain temperature so as not to oxidize and generate free radicals. Many people think that olive oil or olive oil is healthier than other cooking oils. Really?
Olive oil, corn oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil: which is healthier?
Researchers at Sfax University Tunisia conducted a study and compared the suitable oils for frying. They compared olive oil to corn, soybean and sunflower oil.
The research was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. They noted the physical, chemical, and nutritional changes in oil when heated and used to fry food.
When heated, oil can produce toxic substances and its nutritional content can be lost or changed. This study aims to find the oil that undergoes the least nutritional changes when used for frying repeatedly.
The research team fried potatoes at 3 temperatures with 4 different types of oil, olive oil, corn oil, soybean oil and sunflower seed oil. Potatoes are fried in 3 temperatures, 160 C, 190 C and 180 C.
This test was repeated 10 times with the same oil, in general household conditions. Different methods are used to determine the change in oil during the frying process.
The results show that when used for frying, the chemical composition of cooking oil is generally stable compared to seed oil. Olive oil, on the other hand, is the most resistant to oxidation. Trans fatty acids and the percentage of total nutrients are the least changed at 160 degrees C during the frying process.
The healthiest olive oil
In conclusion, olive oil is better than seed oil for frying, because the quality and nutrition is better or not much has changed. Meanwhile, the International Olive Oil Council states that olive oil is ideal for frying, but it must be at the right conditions and temperature and not too hot.
There is no structural change in olive oil, and its nutritional content remains durable compared to other oils. Not only because of its antioxidant content, but also because of its high oleic acid content.
How to use cooking oil to stay healthy
Don’t heat the cooking oil too high.
Use just enough so that the compounds formed from heating are not excessive.
Before adding the ingredients to be fried, make sure the cooking oil is hot first so that the cooking process is not too long in the oil.
Use paper or tissue to cover the fried food to remove excess oil from the food.
So that the compounds formed due to heating do not become a lot and do not stick to food, it is better not to use used oil repeatedly.
Store cooking oil in a cool place and not exposed to light so that the content of the oil does not change.
Healthy cooking oil doesn’t mean that you overdo it on fried foods. Keep limiting your consumption of fried foods.